Thelma and Louise

Two weeks ago I traveled to Portland, Oregon for work and play. I am originally from The Rose City so not only do I have a lot of friends in Portland, but my daughter still lives there, as well. I fell like I am "home."

Portland in the Spring, west side of the Willamette River, looking east.

I spent time with my daughter celebrating our birthdays; time with the C.O.W.s (Company of Women, my Portland Bible Study group) AND I bought a car!!!

My colleague recently moved right downtown. In Portland, where you don't actually need a car. 
You can  pretty much get anywhere on a bus, a train, zip car, a pedal bike, the street car or by walking, not to mention Uber.

So, I bought his car.  Mind you, I did not actually NEED a new car, but isn't she pretty?

Now I needed to get her back to So. Cal.  My friend and quilting buddy, Charlotte-the-Tall,
flew up to Portland to drive back with me.



Just call all us Thelma and Louise!

We did not zoom out of town, however, before visiting Cool Cottons
to kick off our very own shop hop.

Cool Cottons is a small shop in SE Portland.The proprietor has a wonderful collection of fabrics!  I bought a blouse pattern (and fabric.$$)  When you are in Portland, this shop is a MUST.  Tell Marie "The Charlotte's sent me."


Next Stop, Spokane, WA to see the quilting Auntie...only 350 miles in the wrong direction, a slight detour. We helped Auntie clean up her sewing room (setting aside a generous pile of quilting junk stuff to haul back to Calif.)  Even though the visit was short, we had time to visit one of my favorite quilt shops in the Spokane area, The Bear Paw Quilting in Coeur d'alene, Idaho.

Yes, we did pick up a few items at The Bear Paw. $

All too soon it was time to say goodbye and head for Bend, Oregon and The Stitchin Post in Sisters ... 368 miles.

We picked up a few BUGS along the way!!!

All over my new car!  EEEeeekkkkkk!

OK, we did spend a few coin at The Stitchin Post. $$$$$
A "fat quarter bundle" for The Gypsy Wife.  It was the first time I've ever purchased an entire FQ bundle but I wanted The Gypsy Wife blocks to coordinate.  (More about this project in a future post.)



Bend, Oregon is so beautiful and we are not just talking about the quilt shops.

Melotius River

There absolutely IS more to life than quilting.

I could SO live here!

 The Three Sisters

Heading out of Bend with Sacramento, CA in mind, we stopped at two quilt shops in Klamath Falls, experiencing wind, rain, dust and more bugs along the way!

The credit card did not get any activity in Klamath Falls.$$

Spending the night in Sacramento, we were pretty much ready to be home, but we had 423 miles between us and our own little beds.  Off we went....

And, you guessed it, we did stop at one last quilt shop.  This one in Bakersfield, CA.  Thimble Town.  This shop is in a very out-of-the-way location but worth the scavenger hunt.  We did whip out the 'ol credit card for a few purchases. $$

All-in-all we made pretty good time UNTIL...dun dun dunnn...we hit Santa Clarita and the infamous Los Angeles rush-hour traffic.  It was U-G-L-Y to be sure.

Two-and-a-half hours later we pulled into Charlotte's driveway in Huntington Beach.  Thankfully the hubs had a dinner reservation for us at their favorite Italian restaurant...WITH wine.  So, the day ended on a good note.

1,718 miles, 4 hotel rooms, a visit with the Auntie & Unkie in Spokane; 8 fabric stores along the way; 7 episodes of Car Talk; picked up a bushel of smashed bugs on the front of my new car; too many restaurant meals (not enough veggies)....but, what an adventure.  I can honestly say my wander lust has been satisfied for a while.

$$$$$ Oh, and the damage to the pocket book?
$212 for me, double that for the other Charlotte. $$$$$

Happy Surprises Come in Small Packages

My children grew up in the age where everyone received a trophy just for participating....so no one would feel bad, dontcha know....(When I moved from Portland to "the land of endless sun" I gave a gob of trophies to Goodwill.  I sure hope there are more kids out there with names of Ana and Matt.)

I always thought receiving a trophy for showing up was pretty silly because when we grow up and become adults we do not get trophies for showing up.  We get FIRED if we don't.  That is the real world.

Having said my piece, last night at our monthly Guild meeting I RECEIVED A RIBBON!

This pattern is from Fandom In Stitches, enlarged 200%

I'll admit, it was "honorable mention"  (the ribbon for showing up...)  But, it was too fun!!!

This was a challenge quilt for the Flying Geese Quilters Guild.  We were given (for $15) a packet of three pieces of green fabric.  The theme was "It Ain't Easy Being Green."

There is some amazing talent in this group.  Here are but a few of the entries:

I think Gordo was my favorite.

There is a reason we let professionals color our hair.

Just plain nice.



















This is the first challenge quilt I've done...not sure if I'll do another.  It is hard thinking up ideas, and the competition in this group is big.   But, it was a fun experience.